Karachi: Sri Lanka has dropped plans to host a limited overs series between Pakistan and Australia in August as it clashes with the Sri Lankan Premier League, Pakistani cricket officials said on Saturday. It's disappointing, Pakistan Cricket Board's chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmed, told AFP.
Initially the Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) offered to host the series and we stopped negotiating with others. Since Sri Lanka told Pakistan of its decision Friday, Pakistan had started negotiations with other countries about hosting the series, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia, he said. We are looking for other venues to host Australia... and hope to finalise it soon, Ahmed said.
Pakistan is due to play five one-day and three Twenty20 matches against Australia from mid-August, the dates of which are yet to be finalised. Pakistan has been a no go zone for international teams since March 2009 terrorists attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which left eight people dead and wounded seven visiting players and their assistant coach.
Pakistan has since had to play its home games in neutral venues such as the UAE, England and New Zealand. Even before the 2009 attack, foreign teams had refused to tour Pakistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001 that sparked security concerns in and around the country....
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10:08 AM, May 22, 2008
